Roundworms

[CedarRanch]

Found roundworms today in poop. Free range chickens. How do I treat them? How long do the eggs live in soil? I have 2 cats and a dog as well. My dog is constantly trying to eat their poop. My kids play outside. Who do you treat? Everyone? Us? I’m defeated. We had lice, treated with elector, then MG, treated with denagard, now worm. I want to give up. We’ve only had chickens for 8 months. There have been back to back problems and I’m worried this will start to effect my families health.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

Sorry you've been having so many issues. Most of us raise chickens for years and have nothing happen, and others like yourself seem like it's one thing or another. Hopefully, this is it for a while.

First, if you are sure it's roundworms, those are species-specific. It doesn't mean your dog won't get them from the chicken poop, but generally they wouldn't survive. Humans can't get those from chickens either. I'd still be sure your dogs and cats get some type of dewormer. We live in the country and keep them all on a monthly one.

Ivermectin is known to help kill roundworms and mites but my understanding is it's lost some of its effectiveness over the years for use as a dewormer, but some still do successfully. You might want to use Safeguard or Valbazen though. For the latter, here's an article on dosage:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...s-for-poultry-waterfowl-and-game-birds.75490/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Found roundworms today in poop. Free range chickens. How do I treat them? How long do the eggs live in soil? I have 2 cats and a dog as well. My dog is constantly trying to eat their poop. My kids play outside. Who do you treat? Everyone? Us? I’m defeated. We had lice, treated with elector, then MG, treated with denagard, now worm. I want to give up. We’ve only had chickens for 8 months. There have been back to back problems and I’m worried this will start to effect my families health.

Do you have photos of the worms/poop?

To treat Roundworms only, I'd use Valbazen (Albendazole). Dose is 0.08ml per pound of weight given orally once, then repeated in 10days.

Roundworms that are found in poultry are species specific, so it's unlikely that your family will be affected, but it's always good practice to wear shoes when in outside areas and practice good hygiene, wash hands, etc.